Lavington coach James Saker will step down after the season.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Saker told the players at the Thursday night training session.
“I’ve given as much as I can in the job to this point and will continue to do so for the remainder of this year,” he said.
Work’s taking up more and more time and I’m not sure that I could give the effort required for another term.
- James Saker
“Essentially my work’s taking up more and more time and I’m not sure that I could give the effort required for another term.”
Saker was one of the youngest coaches in league history when appointed as a 22-year-old from VFL outfit Werribee towards the end of the 2011 season.
In his six years, he’s won 80 of his 112 games for a healthy success rate of 71 per cent.
Saker’s reign has coincided with one of the greatest teams in 125 seasons of the O and M.
Albury has won six of the past eight premierships with a star-studded Yarrawonga, spearheaded by two-time Coleman Medallist Brendan Fevola, snaring the other two.
The Panthers suffered three gut-wrenching losses in Saker’s first three years, including successive one-point preliminary final losses.
But to the club’s credit, it battled through that and has made the past two grand finals, albeit falling to the Albury juggernaut.
”James has brought another level of professionalism to us, he’s done a sensational job and we couldn’t be happier with the way he’s conducted himself,” Panthers’ president Peter Barwick said.
And the 28-year-old is looking to play on.
“That’s my intention, I love the club and been privileged to be a part of it,” he said.